Femara and herceptin

Common Questions and Answers about Femara and herceptin

femara

I had a further treatment including herceptinand things seemed to be going quite well and the swelling reduced. Then when my biopsy results were checked it was found that the mets were not from the herceptin positive tumour and this treatment stopped. However it seems that from the cessation of the herceptin, my neck and shoulder began to swell up again and by the end of the 6th chem were large and hard and uncomfortable.

I have been diagnosed with HER 2 and estrogen positive breast cancer and been treated with chemotherapy andHerceptin. My oncologist has recommended a five-year treatment of Femara; however, I have high blood pressure (norvasc), osteopena (sp) and high cholesteral (pravachol). I really don't want to take fossamax or any more drugs than necessary, but also do not want a recurrence of breast cancer.

In a single year I have had two different primary cancers I was put on chemo, radio and brachytherapies for the first cancer during 9 months and now for my BC I have had a mastectomy and 3 lymph nodes dissection I will be getting chemo andFemara in about a week.
As a cancer patient I am honestly and sincerely "baffled" by how the doctors reacted to your symptoms. I was told before having the first treatments that this "not could" but would happen.

I had a further treatment including herceptinand things seemed to be going quite well and the swelling reduced. Then when my biopsy results were checked it was found that the mets were not from the herceptin positive tumour and this treatment stopped. However it seems that from the cessation of the herceptin, my neck and shoulder began to swell up again and by the end of the 6th chem were large and hard and uncomfortable.

I had a further treatment including herceptinand things seemed to be going quite well and the swelling reduced. Then when my biopsy results were checked it was found that the mets were not from the herceptin positive tumour and this treatment stopped. However it seems that from the cessation of the herceptin, my neck and shoulder began to swell up again and by the end of the 6th chem were large and hard and uncomfortable.

HI I was on Femara 6 months, with increase in breast nodules and pleural effusion. It didn't work for me, but I'm wondering if another hormonal might. I tried Tamoxifen for 3 months in 2005, without any visible reduction in the nodules, then went on chemotherapy. Is there a chance that one of the hormonals might work for me at some point? Can the cancer be tricked? Otherwise I have reduced life expectancy and increasingly nasty side effects that will reduce QOL.

Also she was taking Tamoxifen and yesterday he took her off Tamoxifen and put her on Femara. Her Her-2 status is positive. Shouldn't he be giving her Herceptin? Also her onc. said in order to control the diease she may have to be on chemo forever. Is that possible?! Can someone acutally receive chemo forever? I will be waiting for your response.

Oncologist have suggested chemo (FEC 6 shots) over 18 weeks together with Herceptin, then femara or something else after teh chemo finishes. The RT will start after the chemo sessions and the i will be put Herceptin for a year.
My question is , could I skip the chemo? If I do all that he orders except the chemo, how would the odds change? i.e how would the survival/ recurrence figures be different?

I take lisinapril and coreg to maintain normal heart function
My question is, if I cannot take Herceptin, is Tykerb viable with a EF of 48-50......or is something else out there to counteract the Her2+ that would be kind to my heart condition?
I saw the oncologist for the first time today, and he has ordered the Muga.......and I know I will have chemo, as well as radiation in the future.....
Any more knowledge you could give me at this point is deeply appreciated.......

At the present though, two drugs already target the overexpressed protein. These drugs are Herceptinand Lapatinib and has been shown to improve outcomes in breast cancer patients.
The benefit of hormonal treatment beyond 5 years is only demonstrated with the drug Femara (MA17 study) and I'm not aware of similar trials involving Novladex.
Regards and God bless.

What are my risks if I choose to just stop the Arimidex and not continue with a change to Femara...My oncologist thinks the risk is there because of the Her2neu but she herself says she is extremely conservative. Also I did not receive any herceptin, I was 18month to 2 years post diagnosis when that was cleared and my previous oncologist (in California) felt the risk outweighed the benefits for me. I would like some advice to help me make an informed choice.

Hi there.
Bone pains can indeed be a side effect of Femara, and what you are experiencing may really be due to this especially in the presence of a negative bone scan. If you want to be really sure, a PET Scan is much more accurate in detecting bone metastases than the usual bone scan and you may want to discuss this option with your doctor.

I take femaraand just finished a year of herceptin. I am 6 months out from radiation, double mastetomy,chemo and have had a bone scan and x-rays due to rib pain and it came back positive for cancer in the 11th rib. It was compared to the bone scan I had a year ago. The rib pain I had wasnot in the 11th rib. I had blood tests and the markers are good and it showed no breast cancer cells. Which is right. Do I need a pet scan? Do I now have stage 4 cancer?

so calcifications, although i have plenty have proven so far to be benign. i had cmf chemo, radiation and tamoxifen. now on femara. i try to keep positive and im learning through all of this that its best to take one day at a time. i have spent too many days, weeks and years worrying and it hasnt changed the outcome. so now as i face another possible biopsy due to another cluster of calcs, i try to tell myself it will be fine as all the others. so we are all facing stuff.

Oncologist have suggested chemo (FEC 6 shots) over 18 weeks together with Herceptin, then femara or something else after teh chemo finishes. The RT will start after the chemo sessions and the i will be put Herceptin for a year.
My question is , could I skip the chemo? If I do all that he orders except the chemo, how would the odds change? i.e how would the survival/ recurrence figures be different?

Had breast cancer 6-06. Right breast mastectomy and had chemo the acts then herceptin for l year,now taking femara daily. Now I am very fatiqued, joint pain. Family history of pancreatic,lung,thyroid,neuroendrocrine cancer that mat. to liver. Was just tested for thyroid tests. Results that the thyroid globulin was 90 normal being 60 and below. Now seeking a Dx.

Oncologist have suggested chemo (FEC 6 shots) over 18 weeks together with Herceptin, then femara or something else after teh chemo finishes. The RT will start after the chemo sessions and the i will be put Herceptin for a year.
My question is , could I skip the chemo? If I do all that he orders except the chemo, how would the odds change? i.e how would the survival/ recurrence figures be different?

Both of those contradictory studies were done on Letrozole or Femara. I am wondering if I should even take hormonal therapy, and, if so, what to use--Tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor, and if the latter, which one?

My dream is to put all this behind and carry on with my life but unfortunately the impact of the side effects of Femara on my life are too great and I am finding it is too hard to find a balance and acceptance that life is not any more like it was. I also feel lonely I don't know in which direction to turn, should I try alternative therapies or not?
Any way thank you for your reply.

I began TCH (taxotere, carboplatin andherceptin) on Dec. 29 and took 4 doses 3 weeks apart. I was very ill (nausea, diahrrea, etc.) but managed to go to work every day full-time. We did not finish the 6 planned doses because I was so ill and because I have had much neuropathy in my hands, feet and face. The facial numbness cleared up within 5-6 weeks after stopping the TC component of chemo. I am still working with hands and feet, but it is not so bad.

my mother is 66 years old and had 2 primary breast cancers dxed in 1979 and 1987 treated with surgery and radiation. Lymph nodes were negative. In the past 6 months, she was having hip pain and workup revealed bony mets to both femurs, pelvis, sacrum, several places in her spine and in the skull (at the clivus). The tumors were ER/PR strongly positive. She has no visceral mets. The cancer in 1979 had neg receptors and the lesion in 1987 was not tested.

An onchologist in Brooklyn NY suggested for her specific level of cancer daily radiations and a combination of Faslodex once a month andHerceptin once every 3 weeks aprox, no chemio.
We would like to take her to Sloan-Kettering in Manhattan for a second and theoretically more specific opinion.
I know that of course it is not easy to give specific suggestions without seeing medical records, but what is your feeling about her history and her chances?...
Thanks!

The decision on what to use is based on prior treatment responses, expected toxicity, and the patient's and oncologist's perceived benefit. These drugs, and most traditional chemotherapies, do not cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore will not affect the development or treatment of brain metastasis. A major goal of care at this point would be symptom control.

I had breast cancer(right breast with two tumors)mesured 3x2 cm and the other 2,5x2cm, almost 3 years ago. I had a mastectomy and two lymph nodes removed and they were clean.
The conclusion from the histopathology was: multifocally invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast without lymph node metastasis in the sentinal lymph nodes. Grate III pT2(m), G3, p NO(0/2),MX RO. Stage IIA.

The test also said that people with scores of 31 or higher had a 40% chance of recurrence with Tamoxifen alone, and 12% with Tamoxifen and CMF/MF. My oncologist said that the chemo drugs used in this study are old, and the outcome could even be 30% better with the new drug combos. Are there studies like this using my score and the new chemo drugs?

I still feel I need protection for at least another year so am seeing a new Oncologist (mine retired last year) soon for evaluation and hope she will prescribe either Femara or Aromasin. All the AI's affect bone density, tamoxifen doesn't and before starting one of these you should have a DEXA bone density scan for a baseline. It is a difficult decision I know.....

I'm 45 years old and was diagnosed over one year ago - did chemo, herceptin, radiation and am currently on Femara. Everything I read about self exams talks about lumps - since mine was microcalcifications, I could not feel it and it was only found by the mammogram. Are cancerous microcalcifications worse than a cancerous lump? Do microcalcifications eventually turn into a lump? What is the difference between the two? Thank you.

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